Met Office issues thunderstorm alert and warns of possible flooding

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms affecting north-west Derbyshire throughout Saturday evening, with scattered rainfall expected across the rest of the East Midlands.

Despite high temperatures and clear skies, heavy rain is expected to break out over north Wales at around 4pm, and make its way across England through to 3am on Sunday morning.

A spokesman said: “While some places will miss these storms and remain dry, where they do occur some heavy rain and lightning is anticipated and in a few places there may also be hail and/or gusty winds. 15-20 millimetres of rain may fall in a relatively short space of time with a few spots seeing close to 30mm.”

As a result, some flooding of a homes and businesses is thought likely, and there is also a risk of lightning strikes to buildings or structures which could cause loss of power and other services.

There is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times by car and bus. Delays to train services are possible.